[Source: SportAccord] The SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2022 is set to benefit from outstanding media coverage, with a series of Russia’s top media organisations having committed to Partnerships for the event in Ekaterinburg.

More than 50 members of the Russian media have already been accredited to attend next year’s edition of sport’s most important global gathering, from 15-20 May 2022 at the IEC Ekaterinburg-Expo.

Russia Today will serve as one of SportAccord 2022’s Principal Media Partners, while RIA Novosti Sport, Sports Business Consulting (S-BC) and TASS Russian News Agency will be Media Partners in Ekaterinburg. The leading Russian media organisations will provide in-depth coverage before, during and after the event.

“Russia’s most recognised media groups will help to shine a spotlight on SportAccord 2022,” said John Hewitt, Event Operations Manager, Communications, SportAccord. “Their coverage will play a vital role in taking the essential insights, news and messages from the gathering in Ekaterinburg to an audience across Russia and beyond. There has been significant interest in next year’s edition from media organisations based in Russia and internationally.”

Alexey Galanov, Media Manager of the SportAccord 2022 Organising Committee said: “The involvement of Russia’s leading media groups illustrates the importance of this event for the host city, region and country. The standing and reach of these organisations in Russia and beyond are unparalleled and will enable us to further engage with key decision-makers on a global basis.”

The role of the media, and how International Sport Federations (IFs) can work positively in partnership with media organisations, will be explored in detail during MediaAccord, which will take place during SportAccord on Thursday, 19 May 2022. In addition, MediaAccord will also feature an inside look into the Russian media landscape.

As the only global sports industry event attended by all IFs and their stakeholders, SportAccord brings together organising committees, hosting cities and regions, governments and administrations, rights-holders, agencies and athletes, as well as top-level experts and organisations from the sports media, technology, investment, medical and legal sectors.

Registration is open for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2022 in Ekaterinburg, the 19th edition of SportAccord’s flagship annual event. Organisations interested in becoming an official partner or exhibitor can contact SportAccord to discuss these investment opportunities by emailing sales@sportaccord.sport, with SportAccord also offering an interactive exhibition floorplan and 3-D flyover of the SportAccord 2022 exhibition space.

You can follow SportAccord’s portfolio of events via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, VK, and Instagram.

[Source: SportAccord] SportAccord will bring together political leaders and governmental decision-makers from around the world for the inaugural MinisterAccord at the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

MinisterAccord, on the afternoon of Thursday 11 November 2021, will be an exclusive gathering of Ministers from sport and tourism, designed to discuss and examine the most pressing and relevant issues for countries and regions within the international sport movement.

MinisterAccord will provide nations, leaders and ministries with a unique opportunity to work together to develop the future of sport and consider how to engage with International Sport Federations and ultimately drive growth opportunities within sport and sport tourism.

In addition, the gathering will allow for key governmental decision-makers to share best practices and explore how sport can break down barriers for the development of a healthy society and economy by inspiring people to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

MinisterAccord will feature a Welcome Address from SportAccord President Dr. Raffaele Chiulli and a Host Nation Address from Russian Federation Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin, as well as further speeches, and an open and interactive discussion session followed by a lunch gathering.

“MinisterAccord is an exciting addition to the programme for SportAccord 2021 as it will strengthen co-operation between nations to ensure the continuing development of sport and sport tourism around the world,” SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt said.

“MinisterAccord will be an opportunity to build bridges for the betterment of society and sport by sharing best practices and discussing essential topics. We look forward to welcoming leaders, ministers and decision-makers to Ekaterinburg for this new and exciting initiative.”

Speaking at the recent Virtual Launch Celebration for SportAccord 2021, Russian Federation Minister of Sport Oleg Matytsin said: “Sport and government must work together. In order for us to recover stronger, we must act like players on the same team.

“There will be areas that require the skills of sports players, and other areas that require the skills of government players, especially concerning Ministers of Sport. For this reason, I am very happy to see MinisterAccord introduced to SportAccord in Ekaterinburg.”

MinisterAccord will sit alongside SportAccord’s other established conference streams, offering delegates clear signposts to specific areas of interest during a busy week of meetings and networking opportunities in Ekaterinburg, from 7-12 November 2021.

The annual World Sport & Business Summit is a six-day event attended by leaders of the global sports community. As the only global sports industry event attended by all International Sport Federations and their stakeholders, SportAccord also brings together organising committees, hosting cities and regions, governments and administrations, rights-holders, agencies and athletes, as well as top-level experts and organisations from the sports media, technology, investment, medical and legal sectors.

Registration is open for the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg, the 19^th edition of SportAccord’s flagship annual event. Organisations interested in becoming an official partner or exhibitor can contact SportAccord to discuss these investment opportunities by emailing sales@sportaccord.sport, with SportAccord also offering an interactive exhibition floorplan and 3-D flyover of the SportAccord 2021 exhibition space.

You can follow SportAccord’s portfolio of events via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up-to-date via LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, VK, and Instagram.

[Source: SportAccord, 07.01.21] Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko has been appointed as Chairman of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 Local Organising Committee. 

His Deputy will be the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin with First Deputy Minister of Sports Azat Kadyrov appointed as Secretary of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 Local Organising Committee.

[Source: SportAccord] The movement’s most influential global gathering will reunite the international sporting community with an unmissable event from 23-28 May 2021.

As the only global sports industry event attended by all International Sport Federations and their stakeholders, SportAccord will also bring together organising committees, hosting cities and regions, governments and administrations, rights-holders, agencies and athletes, as well as top-level experts and organisations from the sports media, technology, investment, medical and legal sectors.

With 2,000 of the sporting world’s most influential decision-makers set to congregate in a stunning city that bridges Europe to the west and Asia to the east, SportAccord 2021 will offer a unique and exclusive networking environment for exhibitors who are seeking to make new connections and strengthen relationships.

A range of stand options, ranging from 9m² to 27m², are available within the engaging exhibition hall at the state-of-the-art IEC Ekaterinburg-Expo convention centre, flanked by SportAccord Stakeholder offices and meeting rooms situated on the mezzanine just a short distance away. Visit the website to view the SportAccord exhibition interactive floor plan or click on the following to view a 3-D flyover of the SportAccord 2021 exhibition space.

The hall itself will be a natural hub of activity at the heart of the event, and the vast majority of organisations that had planned to exhibit at SportAccord this year have already confirmed that they are committed to having a presence at the event in Ekaterinburg.

The exhibition space will feature a significantly larger SportAccord Café than in previous years, as well as a Network Zone (Including speakers’ corner), Meet & Greet Zone, Recharge Zone and a Media Zone, enabling even better networking opportunities.

Ekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth-largest city by population and GMP (Gross Metropolitan Product), is home to numerous professional teams across a wide range of sports and will host games during the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship before staging the 2023 FISU Summer Universiade, having previously hosted 2018 FIFA World Cup matches and the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships.

With more than 40% of exhibitors at recent editions of SportAccord being cities and regions interested in hosting sporting events though, numerous cities – inside and outside Russia – will have a highly visible presence in the exhibition hall.

“With the sporting world looking forward to coming together again in a stunning setting, we are anticipating strong interest in exhibiting at this hugely significant edition of SportAccord in 2021,” SportAccord Business Development Manager Malcolm Hardman said.

“We have a range of stand options available and, as there has been a very positive response since the delegate registration process opened for SportAccord 2021 last month, we would advise those interested in benefiting from such tremendous exposure in the exhibition hall to get in touch soon.”

Head of Directorate of the Local Organising Committee Dmitry Putilin said: “SportAccord 2021 represents an outstanding opportunity for cities that are seeking to boost their event-hosting portfolios to enjoy unparalleled access to International Sport Federations and the global sports industry’s most important figures and organisations.”

Organisations can also become an official partner or exhibitor and discuss these investment opportunities by emailing sales@sportaccord.sport .

You can follow SportAccord’s events via Twitter @sportaccord or you can keep up-to-date via LinkedIn and Facebook, YouTube and Flickr.

[Source: SportAccord] On 28 February, the Swiss Federal Government imposed a ban on large-scale events involving more than 1000 people. The ban came into immediate effect and was set to apply until at least 15 March 2020. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved to declare the COVID-19 outbreak as an official Pandemic. On 14 March at 14:30 CET in a press conference, the Canton of Vaud under emergency measures imposed a ban on events involving more than 50 people until 30 April 2020. SportAccord, which brings together nearly 2,000 delegates, has taken the necessary step of cancelling SportAccord 2020 to give International Sport Federations, stakeholders, partners and attendees as much time as possible to make arrangements in light of the cancellation.

“Our priority is the health and welfare of our International Federations and delegates attending our event, so this decision has been taken with the utmost consideration for those who were planning to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne.” SportAccord President Raffaele Chiulli said.

“This is obviously an extremely unfortunate situation and we are saddened that our community will not be able to attend our annual gathering, but we wanted to announce this decision at the earliest opportunity to enable plans to be adapted accordingly for all concerned.”

SportAccord Managing Director Nis Hatt said: “Following the COVID-19 outbreak, SportAccord has made every effort to find a viable solution for the staging of the SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2020.“

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but in taking the decision to cancel the event at this stage, we have endeavoured to minimise the potential disruption to our delegates’ plans. SportAccord is very grateful for the support of the City of Lausanne, Canton of Vaud, International Olympic Committee, partners, exhibitors, and delegates in recent weeks. We are now focusing on the delivery of what promises to be a superb SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit 2021 in Ekaterinburg and we look forward to welcoming our friends from around the world to Russia from 23-28 May 2021.”

Partners, exhibitors and delegates who had registered to attend SportAccord 2020 in Lausanne will be contacted shortly with further information.

Follow developments and updates via Twitter @sportaccord or keep up to date via LinkedIn and Facebook. For enquiries, email info@sportaccord.sport.

[Source: The World Anti-Doping Agency] WADA confirms that a Russian cyber espionage group operator by the name of Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bear, illegally gained access to WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database via an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-created account for the Rio 2016 Games. The group accessed athlete data, including confidential medical data – such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions delivered by International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) – related to the Rio Games; and, subsequently released some of the data in the public domain, accompanied by the threat that they will release more.

While it is an evolving situation, at present, we believe that access to ADAMS was obtained through spear phishing of email accounts; whereby, ADAMS passwords were obtained enabling access to ADAMS account information confined to the Rio 2016 Games. At present, we have no reason to believe that other ADAMS data has been compromised.

“WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA. “We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted,” he continued.

“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system,” said Niggli. “WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia,” he continued.

Let it be known that these criminal acts are greatly compromising the effort by the global anti-doping community to re-establish trust in Russia further to the outcomes of the Agency’s independent McLaren Investigation Report,” Niggli continued.

WADA is taking this attack very seriously. The Agency extended its investigation with the relevant law enforcement authorities; is conducting internal and external security vulnerability checks; and, is taking the necessary measures to ensure that stakeholders securely manage ADAMS passwords and its usage.

This attack comes on the heels of the early August incident,; whereby Yuliya Stepanova’s password for ADAMS was illegally obtained, which allowed a perpetrator to access her account on ADAMS. Ms. Stepanova was the key whistleblower for WADA’s Independent Pound Commission that exposed widespread doping in Russian athletics. 

[SOURCE: WADA]

Russia’s suitability to host major international sports events has been called into question by recent events, with the IOC having withdrawn its support for events in the country over evidence of organised doping. But the CEO of FIFA sponsor Adidas has given a positive appraisal of the benefits of staging the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“Russia is a very sport enthusiastic population. A lot of sport activities happen here in Russia: we had the winter Olympics, we have the upcoming World Cup and Adidas is the brand which has been in longest connection with the Russian population, therefore there is a big opportunity for us which we want to grab,” Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer told state broadcaster RT on a recent visit to Moscow.

Adidas has Official Partner, Supplier and Licensee rights for the FIFA World Cup and all FIFA events until 2030. As well as partnering with FIFA, Adidas sponsors Russia’s national football team and Moscow teams CSKA and Lokomotiv.

“Football is the biggest sport in the world and the World Cup will enhance this. But I think there is a huge opportunity for all the different sports, Russia is great in track and field, ice hockey, gymnastics, and I definitely think that this will further continue," said Hainer.

Russia’s economy has been hit by the collapse in oil price, with GDP contracting -3.7 per cent in 2015, according to World Bank figures. The budget for staging the World Cup has correspondingly been reduced by 4.4 per cent to US$9.5 billion, of which private investment accounts for 32 per cent.

But Hainer, who was in Moscow for the opening of a new Russia and CIS Adidas headquarters, said the World Cup will give the country a lift.

“A World Cup always leaves a huge legacy in a country, and I’m absolutely convinced this will happen here in Russia. I mean, just look at the newly built stadia, they will be much more modern, have much more comfort and they will also shift the demographics in the stadium, because we saw it in Germany after 2006, much more women coming into the stadium, much more kids, much more families, and this will definitely give a huge boost to football and to sport here in Russia.

“Of course there are some challenges at the moment in the economic development but this will be overcome and I think sport really will drive the whole mood in the country and the whole optimism of the people – therefore I am quite happy that the World Cup in 2018 is here in Russia.”

The 2018 FIFA World Cup takes place from 14 June to 15 July in the cities of Ekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Volgograd and Sochi. Adidas will be supplying the match balls, as it has done since 1970.

The IOC Executive Board on Tuesday said it will no longer back the 2019 European Games, set to take place in Russia, and has asked all Winter Olympic Sports Federations to find alternative host nations for any upcoming events. 
These immediate decisions are part of a number of IOC responses to the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA)’s “Independent Person” report into doping in Russia. 
“The IOC will not organise or give patronage to any sports event or meeting in Russia. This includes plans for the European Games 2019 organised by the European Olympic Committees (EOC),” the IOC Executive Board said in a statement. 
“Because of the detailed references to the manipulation of samples during the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014 the IOC asks all International Olympic Winter Sports Federations to freeze their preparations for major events in Russia, such as World Championships, World Cups or other major international competitions under their responsibility, and to actively look for alternative organisers,” it added.
“The findings of the report show a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Therefore, the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organisation implicated.”
The report, by “independent person” Richard McLaren was instigated after Grigory Rodchenkov, former director of Russia’s Moscow and Sochi antidoping laboratories, blew the whistle on cover-ups.
“WADA is grateful to Richard McLaren, his team, and other contributors that, together, helped provide us with a fact-based path forward today as it relates to allegations and other information provided by Dr. Rodchenkov,” said Sir Craig Reedie, President of WADA said in a statement.
“Shamefully, the McLaren Report corroborates the allegations, exposing a modus operandi of serious manipulation of the doping control process in the satellite laboratory set up in Sochi for the 2014 Games; and, the Moscow laboratory since 2011 and after the Sochi Games.
“Not only does the evidence implicate the Russian Ministry of Sport in running a doping system that’s sole aim was to subvert the doping control process, it also states that there was active participation and assistance of the Federal Security Service and the Center of Sports Preparation of National Teams of Russia.”
The IOC has now started “disciplinary actions related to the involvement of officials within the Russian Ministry of Sports and other persons mentioned in the report because of violations of the Olympic Charter and the World Anti-Doping Code”.
The Report could result in a complete ban on Russian athletes participating in the 2016 Olympic Games, due to start in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August. 
In the statement, the IOC said it will “carefully evaluate the IP Report. It will explore the legal options with regard to a collective ban of all Russian athletes for the Olympic Games 2016 versus the right to individual justice. In this respect, the IOC will have to take the CAS decision on 21 July 2016 concerning the IAAF rules into consideration, as well as the World Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Charter.”

For the full IOC Executive Board statement click here.